1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is top-bedding, defined herein as bedding of the kind that is placed over sleeping persons, including, by way of example, sheets, blankets, covers, duvets, quilts and the like, and more specifically, the field of the invention is top-bedding that is capable of reversibly expanding to accommodate the person or persons using the top-bedding.
2. Statement of the Problems Solved by the Invention
One of the most perennial and universal struggles in the battle of the sexes is the nightly conflict over covers. For centuries, if not millennia, couples sharing a bed have waged somniferous, often unconscious, wars with each other over control of the covers. Particularly in colder climates and during colder months, an unequal distribution of covers, and hence warmth, can adversely affect both the quality and quantity of sleep for the party who is unable to wrestle a fair share of the covers away from their sleeping partner. The consequential lost sleep has obvious ramifications for the ability to function optimally during waking hours.
Most of this nocturnal grappling over covers occurs at the head end of the bed where the body-surface areas and body-volumes of the sleepers are greatest relative to bedding surface area. In addition, the movements of the feet during sleep are generally less spirited than the movements of the torso and arms. Consequently, the focal point of the struggle for covers is typically at the head-end of the bed, and it is there that a greater surface area of top-bedding would be beneficial to both sleepers.
Another aspect of the problem is that while persons are sleeping, it is normally desirable that the edges of the top-bedding along both sides and along the foot of the bed remain tucked in to prevent chilling drafts from wafting to and fro underneath the bedding. However, if the bedding is too taut, it is easily pulled loose along the sides and/or foot of the bed during the eight-hour roll and tumble of a night's sleep. Consequently, one or both users suffer loss of quality sleep because of the resulting drafts.
The aesthetic norms for a well made bed-which commonly dictate that the bedding be tightly secured to the bed by the frictional forces of tucking and be free of wrinkles—only exacerbate these problems because a cover or sheet that has ample surface area to accommodate two sleepers is almost certainly too bulky and voluminous to be secured tightly across the surface of the bed without out producing unsightly wrinkles and lumps when the bed is made.
What is needed is expandable top-bedding that has a closed configuration that is amenable to being affixed to a bed in a neat and taut manner and yet easily and reversibly converts to an open configuration that accommodates sleeping partners and provides ample covering for each, thereby obviating the need to compete for covers.
3. Related Art
A number of partial solutions to the foregoing problems have been patented. The general approach has been to combine a greater surface area of top-bedding with a means of folding the top-bedding in a way that allows it to conform to the aesthetic norms of a made bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,636 to Alexander DiAddario is an example of this approach. DiAddario provides top-bedding with guidelines inscribed thereon and with wing-panels. The guidelines assist in folding the bedding in an “accordion-type” fold along the edges or down the middle when the bed is being made. The wing-panels along the sides and foot of the bedding provide a means of tucking the bedding further under the mattress. DiAddario does not discuss the need for greater surface area of the bedding at the head-end than the foot, nor does he provide a means for achieving or acquiring more surface area. U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,360 to Aviyam Friedman discloses top-bedding having a pleat running across the bed, parallel to the head and foot edges. The purpose of this pleat is to provide additional fabric for the user's feet. Thus, Friedman solves the relatively minor problem of restricted room for a sleeper's feet, while ignoring the major problem of sleepers competing for more cover at the head end. U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,018 to Paule McClam provides a more complex approach that comprises a sleeping-bag like arrangement that is attached to the mattress by extension flaps and that has accordion-folds along the sides. A plurality of zippers is provided along both sides and the foot of the bedding for opening and closing the accordion-folds. McClam's attempts to resolve the problems identified above are laudable, but the complexity of manufacturing and using the bedding render this solution less than optimal. U.S. patent, #768,119, to M. H. Fine is illustrative of early (1904) attempts to resolve problems closely associated to the ones identified above. In the early part of the 20th century beds often were one-piece sofa-like structures without separable mattresses or box springs; hence, there was no means for securing bedding by tucking it in. FIG. 5 of Fine shows such a bed. Fine invented a bedspread with weights along the edges to help hold the bedspread in place, whether it be used on a sofa-like bed or by soldiers or campers sleeping on the ground. Fine also discloses a small pouch at the head-end of the bedspread to accommodate the sleeper's shoulder and neck area.